One billion for bin Laden

In retrospect, if we offered a billion dollars for him and whoever was around him, it probably would have been a bargain at the time and might of even worked to bring him in, dead or alive. Yes? No?

Not that it would have ended terrorism -- but it would've cut all the celebrity and PR he's used to his advantage all this time.

Naah. If he dropped dead tomorrow (or had dropped dead ten years ago), some other loony would step right into his place. That #2 guy--I forget his name--who we DID manage to kill, was in many ways a worse menace than Bin Laden. At least Bin Laden comes off as a bit of an intellectual, and you get the feeling that he's more pissed off than crazy--after all, his beef with the US stems primarily from what he saw as an act of betrayal. Most of the Al Qaida bunch are like chimpanzees that just sat on a nest of fire ants. So if we off Bin Laden, or pay someone else to do it, we don't improve the situation in any meaningful way.